Symbol Key

Craft

Memory Verse

Object Lesson

Game

Visual Aid

Activity

Q & A

Work Sheet

Grade Level2

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Genesis EL 8.1

God Makes a Promise to AbramGenesis 11:27–12:9

LESSON GOALStudents will learn that God keeps His promises.

LESSON OBJECTIVESStudents will be able to■ Distinguish between Abram’s life before and after God

called him.■ Identify what God promised Abram.■ Explain that through faith in Jesus, believers share in the

blessing to Abram.

KEY VERSE“Now the LORD had said to Abram…‘I will make you agreat nation; I will bless you and make your name great;and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who blessyou, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you allthe families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Genesis12:1–3).

APPLICATION■ Trust God to keep His promises.■ Obey God’s commands even when they are difficult.

NEXT WEEKAbraham and Sarah Doubt GodRead Genesis 16–17; 18:1–15.

Symbol Key

Craft

Memory Verse

Object Lesson

Game

Visual Aid

Activity

Q & A

Work Sheet

Grade Level2

MaterialsNeeded____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Teacher Planning SheetPREPAREObjectives/Truths to cover this week❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

Personal ApplicationAs a result of my study in this passage, God wants me to

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

Three ways students need to apply this passage are

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

POINT Choose from various ideas to point students to the coming Bible lesson.

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

PROCLAIMChoose from various ideas to proclaim the Bible lesson.

Presentation Ideas❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

Praise/Music Ideas❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

PRACTICEChoose ideas to help review and apply today’s lesson.

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

❏ ___________________________________________________________________

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8.2 Genesis EL

God Makes a Promise

to Abram

Bible BackgroundIn this lesson, we will see God preparing for Himself a people who can become themouthpiece of divine revelation. After the tragedy of Genesis 3 (the fall of Adam andEve), man’s only hope was that his relationship to God might be restored (somethinghe could not accomplish himself). The Lord had planned this restoration from eter-nity past. It was to be realized through the descendants of one man—Abram. Whydid God select Abram? He chose him because He is the sovereign God, free tochoose anyone He wants for whatever reasons He thinks best.

About 2,100 years before Christ’s birth, Terah, Abram’s father, moved his family fromUr (a city in the land of the nomadic Amorites) to Haran, another city in the samearea but about 50 miles northwest. Terah originally had planned to go to Canaan,but he settled at Haran instead. From Haran, God called Abram to leave his countryand all his relatives and depart for Canaan. God promised to show him his exactdestination en route. The writer of Hebrews commends Abram for leaving everythinghe knew for an unknown destination, relying only on his faith in God (Heb. 11:8).

Three basic aspects to God’s promise were revealed in Genesis 12:2–3: (1) Abramwould have many descendants; he would begin a great nation (Israel); (2) his namewould be honored; and (3) his family would be a blessing to “all the families ofthe earth.” The importance of this covenant cannot be overemphasized because itpredicts the ultimate blessing and reversal of Adam’s curse—the advent and sacri-ficial death of Jesus Christ. All families on earth would wish for this blessing, andthey would receive it in Acts 10 when Gentiles were welcomed into the churchalong with Jews.

The wording of Genesis 12:4 is interesting. It shows that Abram left Haran inobedience to God. Abram took all his transportable possessions with him. Godhad blessed him mightily, and he had gained substantial wealth. Besides his otheracquisitions, Abram had gained a number of slaves, some who were born to adultslaves he already owned and others whom he had purchased. The rich man wholived in Haran was about to become a nomad living in tents.

The whole entourage traveled south to Shechem. Although he had no way ofknowing it at the time, Abram was camped at the center of the territory that Godwas going to give him and his posterity. The Lord appeared to Abram, revealing tohim a fourth aspect of His promise: all the land he could see around him eventu-ally would be a part of his legacy from God. This land was an aspect of thecovenant that had not been previously revealed. (Genesis 12:2–3 does notmention it.) Abram camped at what must have been a widely recognized land-mark—the massive terebinth tree of a man named Moreh. No such landmarkremains today.

On several occasions in this passage Abram built an altar. He would travel a little andthen pray; a little more progress, a little more prayer—always the same pattern. The

God Makes a Promise

to Abram

AdditionalReferenceMaterialsParadise to Prison:

Studies in Genesis by

John J. Davis

The MacArthur Study

Bible by John MacArthur

Creation and Blessing by

Allen P. Ross

Zondervan Pictorial

Encyclopedia of the Bible,

edited by Merrill C.

Tenney. The article enti-

tled “Ur of the Chaldees”

(vol . 5, pp. 846-848) is

helpful in understanding

what the city of Ur was

like back in the day

Abraham lived in it.

PREPARE WITH THE TRUTH“Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul.…You shall teach them to your children” (Deuteronomy 11:18–19).

Please take time to prepare your mind and heart to accurately handle the truths ofGod’s Word (2 Tim. 2:15). Read through the Bible background and study the truthscontained in this lesson. Crucial background information is included here to aidyou in understanding the Scripture.

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Genesis EL 8.3

word for altar in Genesis 12:7 is “a place for slaughter.” Long before Moses receivedthe Law, God had instituted blood sacrifice as the means of communion with Him.Again, in Genesis 12:8, Abram traveled the short distance from Shechem to Betheland built another altar. He is probably the best early example of a man who walkedby faith rather than by sight. He always seemed to need to pray.

The writer of Genesis was, of course, Moses. His inclusion of specific landmarkssuch as Shechem, Bethel, Ai, and the terebinth of Moreh must have created aheightened sense of national heritage and anticipation for the people of Israel asthey wandered about in the wilderness centuries later. Bethel was called Luz at thetime of Abram, but its name had been changed before Moses’ time. Abram prob-ably journeyed to this mountainous region to provide pasture for his flocks.

Review Questions

Use these questions to review and reinforce key truths.

How many languages did people speak at Babel? One.

What did the men say that they wanted to do? They wanted to build a city for themselves and make their name great.

What did the people mean when they said, “Let us make for ourselves a name”? The people wanted to show how great they were.

What did the Lord think of what the people were doing? He did not like that the people were being disobedient to His commands.

What did the Lord decide to do? Confuse their language.

What happened after God confused their language? The people were scattered.

Where were the people scattered? All over the earth.

Fun Facts: Can You Count? In Abram’s time, there were no telescopes, and no one dreamed of all the stars we cansee now with these instruments. On a moonless night with no clouds, you can see about2,000 stars. Throughout history, men have studied the stars, trying to count and to mapthem. In about 130 B.C., a mathematician named Hipparchus cataloged 1,000 stars.

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8.4 Genesis EL

God Makes a Promise

to Abram

POINT TO THE TRUTH“Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth”(Psalm 78:1).

This section includes questions to review last week’s lesson and ideas to preparestudents for this week’s lesson. Choose from the following ideas to point to thetruths of this lesson.

Almost 1,600 years later, in 1433, an astronomer named Ulugh Beigh finished a newstar catalog, but it had roughly the same number of stars as Hipparchus’s. Then, in 1610,the telescope was invented. When a mathematician named Galileo turned this newinvention toward the stars, he was excited and amazed at what he saw. In a short timehe made several new lenses for his telescope—each one more powerful than the last.Each new lens revealed an innumberable number of stars. Imagine being the firsthuman being to see them! It was Galileo who concluded once and for all that it wasimpossible to count the stars. It has been estimated that there could be 1,000 billionstars in the Milky Way. If you counted one every second for your whole lifetime (withoutany sleep), you wouldn’t get past three billion! In today’s lesson we will see that Godpromised Abram many descendants, as many as the stars he could count in the sky.

Future Foretold, Part One This activity must be used with “Future Foretold, Part Two” (in the Practice section).Cut three slips of paper. On the first slip of paper, write, “God will make me veryfruitful.” On the second slip of paper write, “God will make many nations come fromme.” On the third slip of paper, write, “God will make kings come from me.” Asstudents come into the classroom, hand out the slips to three different students. Tellthem not to look inside until instructed. Have the three students stand in front of theclass when everyone is seated. Instruct them that the “futures” foretold on their slipsof paper will come true within the hour. Have them read their slips out loud. Havestudents listen to the Bible lesson to hear how Abram’s future held the same prom-ises. How would those promises be fulfilled? How will the future promises to thethree students be accomplished?

Bible Lesson

Reading of the TextRead Genesis 11:27–12:9.

IntroductionHave you ever made a promise to someone? It is important to keep your promises.Did you know that God has made promises? When He makes a promise, it is veryimportant. His promises are special. Do you remember the promise God made toNoah? In Genesis 9:15, God said that He never again would destroy the entireearth with a flood. Isn’t that wonderful? But this is not the only promise God hasmade in the Bible. Jesus promised His disciples that He would come back again.And do you know what else He promised? He said in John 14:3 that when He

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Genesis EL 8.5

God Makes a Promise

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PROCLAIM THE TRUTH“Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength andHis wonderful works that He has done” (Psalm 78:4).

This section includes the Bible lesson, lesson questions, and praise and worshipideas. Song suggestions are included to use during worship time. Use the lessonquestions to check the students’ understanding. This section also includes variouspresentation ideas to use during the teaching time. Read the Bible passage severaltimes before you read these pages. All teaching should be done directly from theBible.

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8.6 Genesis EL

comes back He would take them to heaven. Jesus has not yet returned. We are stillwaiting for Him to return. When He returns, He is going to take all who believein Him to heaven. That’s a wonderful promise, too, isn’t it? In today’s lesson, weare going to learn about a promise God made to one man. Does anyone rememberthis man’s name? We just read about him in Genesis 11–12. His name is Abram.

Leadoff Questions (LOQs)

LOQ: Where did Abram live?Answer: Genesis 11:31 says that Abram lived in the Ur of the Chaldeans and inHaram.

LOQ: What did God tell Abram to do? Answer: Genesis 12:1 says that the Lord told Abram, “Get out of your country,away from your family and from your father’s house.” God was telling Abram toleave the place where people worshiped idols. God was telling Abram that hislife was going to be different. He wanted to make sure that Abram would live arighteous life, not a rebellious life.

LOQ: How do you think Abram felt about what God told him to do? Answer: The Bible doesn’t say how he felt. It just tells us that he obeyed whatGod told him to do. Genesis 12:4 says that Abram went forth as the Lord hadtold him to. What was important was that he obeyed God. Obedient is the wordthat best describes Abram. God changed Abram’s life. Abram was not going toworship idols anymore. Abram now would obey the true God—the God of theBible.

LOQ: What did God promise Abram? Answer: There are four things God promised Abram: (1) In verse 1 God told Abram toleave Ur and to go “to the land which I will show you.” This would be a very specialplace where his family would live. God promised him this land. (2) In verse 2 Godpromised Abram, “I will make you a great nation.” From Abram’s children wouldcome a special nation. (3) In verse 2 God also told Abram that he would have “a greatname.” What does it mean to have a great name? It means that your name is remem-bered as being very important. Abram would be the father of a nation—Israel. Peoplewould remember his name. He would never be forgotten. (4) Finally, in Genesis 12:3God told Abram, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This meant thatevery nation in the world would be blessed because of Abram. They would be blessedbecause the Savior of the world—Jesus Christ—would come through the descendantsof Abram (Gal. 3:16). The nation of Israel has been used by God to give the world theBible and the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Presentation Ideas

A Beka Book Flash-A-Cards Use appropriate A Beka Book Flash-A-Cards with the Bible lesson.

Betty Lukens Flannelgraph Use appropriate flannelgraph pieces as you teach the Bible lesson.

Packed SuitcaseBring a suitcase filled with bags of pennies (wealth); stuffed sheep or cows (herds or

God Makes a Promise

to Abram

flocks); and blankets, a pot and pan, and clothes (possessions). Start the lesson byasking the students what they would bring if they were moving to a foreign country.Explain that in today’s lesson, they will learn about a man named Abram and howGod called him to live in a new land. Open the suitcase and describe the variousthings Abram took with him when he moved.

Shield of AbramRead Genesis 15:1. Cut a shield from a piece of cardstock. Use a marker to divide theshield into four sections. Each section will represent a portion of the covenantbetween God and Abram. In the first section, draw stars to represent Abram’s manydescendants (Gen. 15:5). In the second section, draw a compass to represent a specialland (Gen. 13:14). The third section should contain a picture of the earth to representblessings given to the entire world (Gen. 12:3). In the fourth section, write Abram’sname in bubble letters or in puff paint to represent a great name (Gen. 12:2). If youcannot draw, use stickers or magazine pictures in each section. Attach a strip of card-stock to the back of the shield for a handle.

Praise and WorshipCome, Let Us Worship and Bow Down

Father Abraham*

God Is So Good

In His Time

My Faith Has Found a Resting Place

Seek Ye First

Standing on the Promises

The B-I-B-L-E

’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Trust and Obey

*Replace “so let’s just praise the Lord” with “if Jesus is our Lord.”

Covered in Christ’s Righteousness Read and discuss Genesis 15:6. Give each student a coloring page with an outlineof a person drawn on it. Encourage the students to color the person completely (orclothe the person with glued-on tissue paper). Explain that this is a picture of asinner covered with sin. You can read Ecclesiastes 7:20 out loud. Then give eachstudent a cutout person to represent Jesus Christ. Have them glue it over theirpictures so that it covers all the coloring. Explain that Christ lived a perfectly right-eous life and that He imputes (credits) that righteousness to those who believe inHim and confess Him as Lord and Savior. Read 2 Corinthians 5:21.

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Genesis EL 8.7

God Makes a Promise

to Abram

PRACTICE THE TRUTH“That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keepHis commandments” (Psalm 78:7).

Choose ideas from this section to review and apply the truths of the Bible lesson.

Future Foretold, Part Two Have three baskets filled for the completion of “Future Foretold, Part One” (in thePoint section.)

Fruitful: Fill with enough grapes or fruit slices for each student.

Nations: Fill with flags from the nation of Israel.

Kings: Fill with an assortment of objects signifying kings.

Call the three students whose futures were “foretold” up to the front of the class-room. Have them read their slip of paper again. Give these students their “fulfilledpromises” by giving them the correct baskets and instructing them to distributetheir contents to the class. We will see in future lessons how these promises toAbram do get fulfilled, even if our promises did not turn out exactly as we thought.

Seeing Stars Use light-colored crayons or colored chalk to draw a landscape on black construc-tion paper. Drawing the horizon about halfway up the paper. Above the horizon(in the sky area), poke many small holes in the paper. When you hold the paperup in front of a light, you will see stars! When Abram saw stars, what promise ofGod would he remember?

Variation: Cut one strip of green construction paper (3 x 11 inches), one strip of orange construction paper (1 1/2 x 11 inches), and a half circle of yellowconstruction paper for each student. On a piece of black construction paper, gluethe yellow half-circle on the center of the page. Glue the strip of orange construction paper over the bottom of the half circle. Glue the green strip over thebottom of the orange strip of construction paper. With a black marker, write thewords “Seeing the Stars” across the yellow half-circle. Poke small holes in theblack construction paper, or give the students gold and silver star stickers to puton the paper.

God Is My Shield Genesis 15:1 tells us that God comforted Abram by reminding him that He washis shield. Discuss why Abram would need God as a shield (possibly to protecthim from his enemies after freeing Lot). Copy the shield at the back of this lessononto cardstock for each student. Have students cut out the shield and color thecross red and the stars blue. Cut strips of cardstock (2 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches) for eachstudent to attach to the back for a handle. Read Ephesians 6:10–18. Discuss whatthe shield of faith can do. How might the flaming arrows of Satan be put out byusing our shield of faith?

“God’s Covenant with Abram” Use this work sheet during small-group time, or give it to students to take homeand use with their parents. This work sheet is located at the back of this lesson.

Journal Page: “Keeping My Promises”Give each student a copy of the journal page at the back of this lesson. Studentscan complete the page individually, in small groups, or at home.

Coloring SheetsGive each student a copy of the coloring sheets at the back of this lesson. You canhave students color the pages in class or at home. You may wish to have studentstear out small pieces of brown paper to make “stones.” Glue these stones to the altar.

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8.8 Genesis EL

God Makes a Promise

to Abram

23

Don’t Make Me Laugh Practice the memory verse in a crazy way. Split into groups of fewer than 10 sothere will be time for everyone to have a turn. Have each student try to makeanother student (of his choice) laugh. He can make faces or stare into the otherperson’s eyes, but he must say only the memory verse (Gen. 12:1–3).

MEMORY VERSE“Now the LORD had said to Abram…‘I will make you a great nation; I will blessyou and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those whobless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of theearth shall be blessed’” (Genesis 12:1–3).

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Genesis EL 8.9

God Makes a Promise

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Genesis EL 8.11

God Is My Shield

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Genesis EL 8.13

Name

Who was Abram’s father?

What was Abram’s wife’s name?

Did Sarai have any children?

Circle the four things God promised Abram.

a great name a big house many animals

land blessing a great nation

Did Abram believe God’s promise?

Who went with Abram?

How old was Abram when he left Haran?

20 75 50

What did Abraham build to the Lord?

G e n e s i s 1 1 : 2 7 – 1 2 : 9

1.

2.

5.

6.

3.

4.

7.

8.

Covenantwith

God’sAbram

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Kee

pin

g M

y Pr

om

ises

Hav

e yo

ur p

aren

ts e

ver

mad

e a

deal

with

you

? M

aybe

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“If

you

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oom

, yo

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ith y

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“If y

ou fi

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ome

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” Th

ese

prom

ises

are

con

ditio

nal,

but

God

’s pr

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Abr

am w

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ithou

t con

ditio

ns. I

t dep

end-

ed o

nly

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od’s

faith

fuln

ess

to k

eep

His

wor

d. G

od w

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to b

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keep

you

r pr

omis

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oo.

Onc

e I m

ade

and

kept

this

pro

mis

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e I m

ade

but d

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this

pro

mis

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I can

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omis

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y

Pray

er: A

sk C

hris

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help

you

be

like

Him

and

kee

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es w

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em. Y

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ask

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omis

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at y

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ises

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ese

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ises

are

con

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nal,

but

God

’s pr

omis

e to

Abr

am w

as w

ithou

t con

ditio

ns. I

t dep

end-

ed o

nly

on G

od’s

faith

fuln

ess

to k

eep

His

wor

d. G

od w

ants

you

to b

e fa

ithfu

l to

keep

you

r pr

omis

es, t

oo.

Onc

e I m

ade

and

kept

this

pro

mis

e:

Onc

e I m

ade

but d

id n

ot k

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this

pro

mis

e:

I can

mak

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is b

roke

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omis

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ght b

y

Pray

er: A

sk C

hris

t to

help

you

be

like

Him

and

kee

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omis

es w

hen

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Genesis EL 8.16

What are som

e promises you can keep this w

eek? Write

them dow

n on a separate piece of paper. Glue a sm

all envelope in the space below

, and then cut out and foldyour prom

ises. Place them in the envelope, and this w

eekpull a prom

ise out and fulfill it. Do this each day until all

your promises are fulfilled.

What are som

e promises you can keep this w

eek? Write

them dow

n on a separate piece of paper. Glue a sm

all envelope in the space below

, and then cut out and fold yourprom

ises. Place them in the envelope, and this w

eek pull aprom

ise out and fulfill it. Do this each day until all your

promises are fulfilled.

What are som

e promises you can keep this w

eek? Write

them dow

n on a separate piece of paper. Glue a sm

all envelope in the space below

, and then cut out and foldyour prom

ises. Place them in the envelope, and this w

eekpull a prom

ise out and fulfill it. Do this each day until all

your promises are fulfilled.

What are som

e promises you can keep this w

eek? Write

them dow

n on a separate piece of paper. Glue a sm

all envelope in the space below

, and then cut out and fold yourprom

ises. Place them in the envelope, and this w

eek pull aprom

ise out and fulfill it. Do this each day until all your

promises are fulfilled.

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Ab

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Sara

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Genesis EL 8.19

“So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him” (Genesis 12:4).

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Genesis EL 8.21

Abram built an altar to the Lord in the land God had given him (Gen. 12:7).